Did anyone else get one of these? I figured we'd be in for an assessed value increase, but I got one of the early notices last week, to inform me that my assessed value has increased nearly 25% over the past year.

In a bizarre twist, the value increase was not all land - my 1950's era Burnaby bungalow also managed to increase in value by about 20%, go figure.

Its about time assessed valued on existing structures begin to appreciate it.

Considering in many municipalities it costs upwards of $150,000 to even begin digging a hole for a new home, surely the livable structures around town are worth more than $25,000 - $50,000 - thats the price of permits alone in West Van.

In fact, when you use Numbeo to compare the prices of downtown ownership apartments, the $692 per-square-foot (PSF) Toronto price and $770 PSF Vancouver price look like bargains in comparison to these prices: $2,419 PSF in New York, $3,167 PSF in London and $3,297 PSF in Hong Kong.

When you factor in the decline of the Canadian dollar, it suddenly appears as if Toronto and Vancouver have just gone on sale -- watch out for global bargain hunters.

That's one way of looking at it. The problem is that Vancouver is a provincial city in a world class location. The locals don't have the money. Are the Chinese willing to pay Manhattan prices for Vancouver?

Eventually, American interest rates will rise and people will be looking for better places to park their cash.

Its about time assessed valued on existing structures begin to appreciate it.

Considering in many municipalities it costs upwards of $150,000 to even begin digging a hole for a new home, surely the livable structures around town are worth more than $25,000 - $50,000 - thats the price of permits alone in West Van.

I don't know. Does the assessed value of a structure take into account the cost to rebuild it? How do new finishes in an old house factor in? I don't know how one values a 1950's era bungalow from the outside alone...

Basically BCA got caught in an insane market and prices were nuts. The fever of land speculation is palpable.

Look at it this way. Paying more taxes means you earned more money. Right?

Haha, if only that were true...

I'm not going to lose sleep over a few hundred more in property taxes, and I can certainly appreciate that my house has increased in value over the last 12 months. Given that my assessment for last year was accurate (ie, it was adjusted based on what I paid for the house), I'm a little surprised that it went up as much as it did. I can only imagine others that have had lower assessments are in for an even bigger shock.

2 sets of friends that live close by got a similar letter and were similarly shocked, I suspect that a NoBu as a whole is seeing a dramatic increase in assessed values this year.

Basically BCA got caught in an insane market and prices were nuts. The fever of land speculation is palpable.

Look at it this way. Paying more taxes means you earned more money. Right?

Haha, if only that were true...

I'm not going to lose sleep over a few hundred more in property taxes, and I can certainly appreciate that my house has increased in value over the last 12 months. Given that my assessment for last year was accurate (ie, it was adjusted based on what I paid for the house), I'm a little surprised that it went up as much as it did. I can only imagine others that have had lower assessments are in for an even bigger shock.

2 sets of friends that live close by got a similar letter and were similarly shocked, I suspect that a NoBu as a whole is seeing a dramatic increase in assessed values this year.

NoBu. Really. Who besides you and a few deranged realtors calls North Burnaby, NoBu?

The total assessments in Greater Vancouver grew from $546.7 billion in 2015 to $636.2 billion in 2016, a 16% growth in 12 months. A sample of East Vancouver single-family homes saw the greatest growth at a 28% increase in value, outpacing the pricey West Side neighbourhoods which still made a strong leap at 23%.

Other neighbourhoods where sample assessment values grew over 20% included the Hamilton area in North Vancouver, the West Vancouver waterfront, Garibaldi Highlands in Squamish, Capitol Hill and Buckingham in Burnaby, and Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam.

“The 2016 assessments are indicating significant increases from 2015,” says Assessor Jason Grant. “Increases of 15-25 per cent will be typical for single-family homes in Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Tri-Cities, New Westminster and Squamish. Single-family market movement in Whistler, Pemberton and the SunshineCoast is less dramatic, with typical increases in the zero to 15 per cent range. Typical strata residential increases throughout the region will be in the five to 10 per cent range.”

BC Assessment says owners of more than 500,000 homes in Greater Vancouver will be receiving their property assessments for 2016 in the mail this week. The numbers reflected in the assessments show market value as of July 1, 2015.

“Property owners can find detailed property information on our website including answers to many assessment-related questions, but those who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2015 or see incorrect information on their notice, should contact BC Assessment as indicated on their notice as soon as possible in January,” says Grant.

Assessment values provide data to determine how much property tax owners must pay each year. Those who experience a larger increase in their property values will be required to pay more tax in 2016.

The total number of homes on the BC Assessment list this year reached 1,996,112 and were valued at $1.34 trillion, an increase of 11.1% from 2015."

Did anyone else get one of these? I figured we'd be in for an assessed value increase, but I got one of the early notices last week, to inform me that my assessed value has increased nearly 25% over the past year.

In a bizarre twist, the value increase was not all land - my 1950's era Burnaby bungalow also managed to increase in value by about 20%, go figure.

We just got our actual assessment, and its even higher than the estimate. Nearly 35% gain YoY, crazy